Barcelona R3: Murray vs Giraldo

To be played on Thursday 26th April at 12:30pm BST (1:30pm local time).

Andy and Santiago will be 2nd on Pista Central after Raonic and Almagro (so the next opponent will be known in advance).

Andy will later return with Jamie to play in the Doubles against 7th seeds Qureshi and Rojer at about 3:30pm BST (4:30pm local time) on Pista 1. However this is only an estimate as there will be three matches on before-hand.

After seeing off Stakhovsky, Murray will next face Colombian #1 Santiago Giraldo for a Quarter-Final berth. Giraldo is ranked #54 in the world, not far off his career high of #44 which he set just over a year ago. These two have never met.

Giraldo is a good clay-court player having grown up in South America and has already seen off Denis Istomin and Robin Haase in straight sets this week. He also reached the Acapulco SFs a few weeks ago before losing to David Ferrer. Should be a good test for Andy but also a potential upset if Andy is not on form.

The winner will face Milos Raonic or Nicolas Almagro in the Quarters.

NB. As they have never met before I don't think a H2H is really necessary but if Bev particularly wants to get a graphic up anyway then go ahead.

Actually, Almagro would be a much better choice for Andy simply because a win against him on clay is much more noteworthy. And if he doesn't win, it's still a great practice. On the other hand, Raonic is a much better matchup for Andy.

Actually, Almagro would be a much better choice for Andy simply because a win against him on clay is much more noteworthy. And if he doesn't win, it's still a great practice. On the other hand, Raonic is a much better matchup for Andy.

True. Almagro would be a great indicator of where he's at right now on this surface and a bigger challenge (you'd have thought) given his clay credentials. But from a viewer's perspective, I want to see him play the big-serving Canadian!

Looking forward to a good match tomorrow. Should be interesting as they have not played against each other. hope Andy has a good match and a win. There is always an edge when playing against each other for the first time.